Don West picked recorded himself doing play-by-play for a Central High American Legion baseball game for fun in 1985, and has since watched that turn into a true calling.
West started that summer day and hasn’t stopped for 31 years and more than 3,000 broadcasts.
“There’s always just been different doors open and close at different times that have kept me going for thirty-one years,” he said.
More remarkable than his longevity is West’s recall. He can tell you anything you want to know about any of the games he has ever broadcast thanks to a meticulous system of lists and cataloging nearly every detail.
On this day—game no. 3,250, baseball between Kickapoo and Willard—West pulls out the hard copy of his lists. He notes—among other things—the schools involved, his broadcast partners, the venue, and the radio, television or internet outlet.
“Once I did it, at the end of the first year, I thought, ‘This will be fun to keep track of,’” he said. “’I don’t know how long this is going to last.’”
After every game, he goes to his basement and notes the particulars from the game by hand. Then, after every basketball season, he updates the file he has saved on his computer.
With that, West has a hard copy of history, a record of Springfield sports more detailed than most.
“I can bring back some very accurate history,” he said. “Then I can bring that out in the broadcast.”
All of this stems from a love of sport, and a love of his city.
“I love Springfield, I love sports in Springfield,” he said. “It’s just important to keep that alive, because if you lose that, it’s gone forever.”
As long as Don West is calling games, it will not disappear.
“It’s part of this city’s makeup,” he said. “It’s just an important part of what we are in Springfield.”
